6 Authors Of Acclaimed Genre Fiction

Popular fiction offers something for every reader, spanning such diverse categories as mystery, horror, and fantasy. In addition to garnering fans, the authors who weave these tales are also the recipients of praise and recognition from their peers, the media, and the publishing industry. Here, in no particular order, are writers who are gathering accolades for their fictional narratives.

At #1 is William Gibson, whose first novel, Neuromancer, won the Hugo, the Nebula, and the Philip K. Dick Memorial Award. Publishers Weekly hailed it as a revolutionary novel, while the San Francisco Chronicle called it science fiction of exceptional texture and vision. He is also the New York Times bestselling author of Count Zero, Mona Lisa Overdrive, Burning Chrome, and Virtual Light.

Agency, Gibson's sequel to The Peripheral, follows the adventures of app whisperer Verity Jane in California and Wilf Netherton, who lives a century ahead in London, and their interactions with human AI, Eunice. The author and his work have been profiled in The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, and Time. He and his wife reside in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Entering the list at #2 is William Hazelgrove, the national bestselling author of multiple novels and nonfiction titles. His books have received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, ALA Editors Choice Awards Junior Library Guild selections, and been optioned for the movies. He was the Ernest Hemingway Writer in Residence, where he wrote in the attic of the author's birthplace.

Hazelgrove has written articles and reviews for USA Today and The Smithsonian Magazine, and been featured on NPR's All Things Considered. His historical fiction book, Tobacco Sticks, details the struggles of the Hartwell family in the aftermath of the second World War, all the way through the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. School Library Journal calls it an exciting story.

Coming in at #3 is author, teacher, and editor Jill Dearman. She holds a master of fine arts in creative writing from the New School, and was a part time professor of journalism at New York University for ten years. Her novel, The Great Bravura, encompasses elements of history and mystery, as well as LGBTQ themes. Augusten Burroughs, the bestselling author of Running With Scissors, calls the story magical and sexy.

Dearman runs a private editing and writing coach business and regularly teaches workshops at The Writers Room in New York City. Among the publications to feature her work are The Brooklyn Rail and The Capra Review. She also lends her voice to the weekly science podcast for Archaeology magazine.

In the #4 spot is Dan Stout, who pens noir fantasy novels that draw on his travels throughout Europe, Asia, and the Pacific Rim. His mystery series, The Carter Archives, follows the escapades of a homicide detective in an oil boomtown. New York Times bestselling author W. Michael Gear calls the first entry in the series, Titanshade, a masterpiece.

Stout's stories have appeared in such publications as The Saturday Evening Post, Nature, and Mad Scientist Journal. His employment history includes stints as a subpoena server and assistant well driller. He resides in Columbus, Ohio.

At #5 is Eliza Victoria. She is the author of Dwellers, winner of the Philippine National Book Award; the graphic novel After Lambana, which is a collaboration with Mervin Malonzo; and the science fiction novel-in-stories, Nightfall. Her work has appeared in several online and print publications, including LONTAR: The Journal of Southeast Asian Speculative Fiction, Stranded: Lone Survivor Deserted Island Horror Stories, and The Apex Book of World SF.

In addition to fiction and poetry, Victoria writes one-act plays in Filipino that have been staged at the Virgin LabFest at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. She has served as a panelist at the Amelia Lapena-Bonifacio Writers Workshop and the Jakarta International Literary Festival. Her work has received the Philippines' top literary honors, including the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature and the Pushcart Prize.

Finishing up the list at #6 is Sarah Pinsker, who writes multiple works of short fiction, including the novelette, Our Lady of the Open Road, winner of the Nebula Award in 2016. Among the magazines that have published her work are Asimov's, Strange Horizons, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Lightspeed, and Uncanny. Her stories have been translated into Chinese, Spanish, French, and Italian, and she's received nominations for the Hugo, Locus, Eugie, and World Fantasy Awards.

Pinsker is also a singer and songwriter with albums on various independent labels, including the releases Charmed and Wingspan. She is the lead singer of the rock band the Stalking Horses, which counts The Kinks, Matthew Sweet, Bruce Springsteen, Lucinda Williams, Patti Smith, and Shudder to Think as musical influences. The author calls Baltimore, Maryland home.